Kicker AX Sold & New Teams Joining

lumpy790 wrote:

The old AX series was great for and dominated by ex Pro SX riders. Antunez Bradshaw and more made it exciting. Pros raced 2 classes 125...

The old AX series was great for and dominated by ex Pro SX riders. Antunez Bradshaw and more made it exciting. Pros raced 2 classes 125 and 250 on Friday and Saturday and Amateur was Sunday. At some point it went to only 250F and 1 class which hurt the series IMO.

Wasn’t racing AX the way to get your SX license back in the day?

Shawn_Smith wrote:

What makes it better about racing two different bikes? This seems more expensive for riders and teams. One day like MX and SX seems like the...

What makes it better about racing two different bikes? This seems more expensive for riders and teams. One day like MX and SX seems like the ideal situation for them.

JustMX wrote:

Does nobody proof read stuff anymore?

Who cares if tacks are designed for amateurs?

JustMX wrote:

not as obvious, but "top 6 rounds counts" and "rider profiles pages" it is the first thing most have seen about the new series. i guess...

not as obvious,

but

"top 6 rounds counts"

and

"rider profiles pages"

it is the first thing most have seen about the new series.

i guess i am a bit more old school, but it would be nice to see a bit more effort than an instagram post about a new bar they went to try out.

on another note,

what are the odds of the first 2 rounds being held in cities with the same name about 1000 miles apart?

is there no arena in Albany, Oregon for the trifecta?

ktmracer726 wrote:

No rounds in the midwest except KY in April when you can normally ride outside. Kind of odd. I would think WI, IL, IN, MI, OH...

No rounds in the midwest except KY in April when you can normally ride outside. Kind of odd. I would think WI, IL, IN, MI, OH or PA would bring good numbers in the winter.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think...

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think that's what some people are talking about here, and some are just talking about having ANY type of series available.

Mike Kidd is the guy to bring back arenacross, I dont know the whole story about him, but I think he might be "outlawed" in the MX community for some reason. IMO, he's the only promoter I have dealt with that respects a rider's worth and that a rider cares about what they make..he listens and doesn't ostracize them if they voice things and changes that need to be made, and as a racer, or any of us that love the industry should respect that.

We have people trying to make rides for arenacross when we just need to focus on having successful series' again.
There is no easier way than using your eyes to see that the sport has gone downhill in the aspect of grassroots and becoming a professional racer, when, let's be honest, whenever someone starts 2 wheels, gets the bug, and starts racing, their initial goal until reality sets in, is to become a professional racer..now whether it's shot down immediately or not, that's another subject...


At the end of the day though, Right now we just don't have an Arenacross series that can be called number 1.. It seems like 1a and 1b right now until someone bigger steps up.


SOMETIMES, it was the guys not finding a supercross ride and coming down to arenacross, SOMETIMES, its older guys trying to stay in for a little money...
right now though, you couldn't do either of those. there is no money in it like the Stephenson Antunez days, hell, even until 2007 when I raced the AMA series, or BooKoo Series through 2007, the purse was unreal... Did it last? No, But, things can be modified for sure.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think...

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think that's what some people are talking about here, and some are just talking about having ANY type of series available.

Mike Kidd is the guy to bring back arenacross, I dont know the whole story about him, but I think he might be "outlawed" in the MX community for some reason. IMO, he's the only promoter I have dealt with that respects a rider's worth and that a rider cares about what they make..he listens and doesn't ostracize them if they voice things and changes that need to be made, and as a racer, or any of us that love the industry should respect that.

We have people trying to make rides for arenacross when we just need to focus on having successful series' again.
There is no easier way than using your eyes to see that the sport has gone downhill in the aspect of grassroots and becoming a professional racer, when, let's be honest, whenever someone starts 2 wheels, gets the bug, and starts racing, their initial goal until reality sets in, is to become a professional racer..now whether it's shot down immediately or not, that's another subject...


At the end of the day though, Right now we just don't have an Arenacross series that can be called number 1.. It seems like 1a and 1b right now until someone bigger steps up.


SOMETIMES, it was the guys not finding a supercross ride and coming down to arenacross, SOMETIMES, its older guys trying to stay in for a little money...
right now though, you couldn't do either of those. there is no money in it like the Stephenson Antunez days, hell, even until 2007 when I raced the AMA series, or BooKoo Series through 2007, the purse was unreal... Did it last? No, But, things can be modified for sure.

JustMX wrote:

ok, Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to...

ok,

Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to correct me.

Mike Kidd ran ax events starting out in texas and then expanded, eventually getting AMA to let him run a "national AX series".

It kicked ass. The racing was great. It had a lot of personalities with guys like Mad Mike Jones and Denny Stephenson. Kidd did a lot of unique stuff. He gave championship rings, and I seem to remember they had an awards banquet and the top finishers were treated to ski trip and other cool stuff that helped build it as a big entertainment team. He paid good purses, had a points fund, built good tracks, had tough fair officials, and had events in diverse areas that pulled in people that were starved for good entertainment.

Kidd ran the series up until about 2000. Clear Channel, The company that proceeded Feld as the supercross promoter decided they wanted to go into the arenacross business.

Clear Channel was a huge entertainment company with a lot of leverage through the concert business and other facets of their business. They also owned about a thousand radio stations, so they had the ability to do a lot of promotions through them, or possibly price out people that they thought of us competitors. They put pressure on several different ax promoters, including Kidd, and they all sold out. Included in the deals were jobs with Clear Channel, and no compete agreements.

Kidd worked for them for a few years and then quit. When his non-compete clause expired he went back to running races.

Things had changed. 4 strokes had taken over, and the sport was coming out of the 2008-2010 recession. Other options for what little disposable income people had was also becoming a bigger factor. Expenses had also skyrocketed. It didn't take long for Kidd to throw in the towel.

He wasn't the only one. Drew Wolfe, who had also sold the awesome AX races he ran in Huntington, WV and Columbus, Oh to Clear Channel. Like Kidd he worked for them for a bit, and then when his non compete expired he went back into some of the arenas he had held races in before that clear Chanel had since abandoned and they were a hollow shell of what they once were. If I remember right one season was enough for Wolfe.

It is not an easy business. Rents have gone up and expenses like dirt move in have gone way up. It seems like a lot of gen x and millennials just don't have that much interest in motorsports anymore.

I also think that the racing is just not as good since the change to 4 strokes. I am not just being an old grouch. The 125s especially always put on an awesome show on the tight little tracks. If a rider made a mistake or got bumped, you could bet they were losing at least on position.

As good as Kidd did on the series after starting it, I just really don't think he can wave a wand and bring it back like it was when he had it before. personally, I am not sure anybody could.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think...

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think that's what some people are talking about here, and some are just talking about having ANY type of series available.

Mike Kidd is the guy to bring back arenacross, I dont know the whole story about him, but I think he might be "outlawed" in the MX community for some reason. IMO, he's the only promoter I have dealt with that respects a rider's worth and that a rider cares about what they make..he listens and doesn't ostracize them if they voice things and changes that need to be made, and as a racer, or any of us that love the industry should respect that.

We have people trying to make rides for arenacross when we just need to focus on having successful series' again.
There is no easier way than using your eyes to see that the sport has gone downhill in the aspect of grassroots and becoming a professional racer, when, let's be honest, whenever someone starts 2 wheels, gets the bug, and starts racing, their initial goal until reality sets in, is to become a professional racer..now whether it's shot down immediately or not, that's another subject...


At the end of the day though, Right now we just don't have an Arenacross series that can be called number 1.. It seems like 1a and 1b right now until someone bigger steps up.


SOMETIMES, it was the guys not finding a supercross ride and coming down to arenacross, SOMETIMES, its older guys trying to stay in for a little money...
right now though, you couldn't do either of those. there is no money in it like the Stephenson Antunez days, hell, even until 2007 when I raced the AMA series, or BooKoo Series through 2007, the purse was unreal... Did it last? No, But, things can be modified for sure.

JustMX wrote:

ok, Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to...

ok,

Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to correct me.

Mike Kidd ran ax events starting out in texas and then expanded, eventually getting AMA to let him run a "national AX series".

It kicked ass. The racing was great. It had a lot of personalities with guys like Mad Mike Jones and Denny Stephenson. Kidd did a lot of unique stuff. He gave championship rings, and I seem to remember they had an awards banquet and the top finishers were treated to ski trip and other cool stuff that helped build it as a big entertainment team. He paid good purses, had a points fund, built good tracks, had tough fair officials, and had events in diverse areas that pulled in people that were starved for good entertainment.

Kidd ran the series up until about 2000. Clear Channel, The company that proceeded Feld as the supercross promoter decided they wanted to go into the arenacross business.

Clear Channel was a huge entertainment company with a lot of leverage through the concert business and other facets of their business. They also owned about a thousand radio stations, so they had the ability to do a lot of promotions through them, or possibly price out people that they thought of us competitors. They put pressure on several different ax promoters, including Kidd, and they all sold out. Included in the deals were jobs with Clear Channel, and no compete agreements.

Kidd worked for them for a few years and then quit. When his non-compete clause expired he went back to running races.

Things had changed. 4 strokes had taken over, and the sport was coming out of the 2008-2010 recession. Other options for what little disposable income people had was also becoming a bigger factor. Expenses had also skyrocketed. It didn't take long for Kidd to throw in the towel.

He wasn't the only one. Drew Wolfe, who had also sold the awesome AX races he ran in Huntington, WV and Columbus, Oh to Clear Channel. Like Kidd he worked for them for a bit, and then when his non compete expired he went back into some of the arenas he had held races in before that clear Chanel had since abandoned and they were a hollow shell of what they once were. If I remember right one season was enough for Wolfe.

It is not an easy business. Rents have gone up and expenses like dirt move in have gone way up. It seems like a lot of gen x and millennials just don't have that much interest in motorsports anymore.

I also think that the racing is just not as good since the change to 4 strokes. I am not just being an old grouch. The 125s especially always put on an awesome show on the tight little tracks. If a rider made a mistake or got bumped, you could bet they were losing at least on position.

As good as Kidd did on the series after starting it, I just really don't think he can wave a wand and bring it back like it was when he had it before. personally, I am not sure anybody could.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think...

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think that's what some people are talking about here, and some are just talking about having ANY type of series available.

Mike Kidd is the guy to bring back arenacross, I dont know the whole story about him, but I think he might be "outlawed" in the MX community for some reason. IMO, he's the only promoter I have dealt with that respects a rider's worth and that a rider cares about what they make..he listens and doesn't ostracize them if they voice things and changes that need to be made, and as a racer, or any of us that love the industry should respect that.

We have people trying to make rides for arenacross when we just need to focus on having successful series' again.
There is no easier way than using your eyes to see that the sport has gone downhill in the aspect of grassroots and becoming a professional racer, when, let's be honest, whenever someone starts 2 wheels, gets the bug, and starts racing, their initial goal until reality sets in, is to become a professional racer..now whether it's shot down immediately or not, that's another subject...


At the end of the day though, Right now we just don't have an Arenacross series that can be called number 1.. It seems like 1a and 1b right now until someone bigger steps up.


SOMETIMES, it was the guys not finding a supercross ride and coming down to arenacross, SOMETIMES, its older guys trying to stay in for a little money...
right now though, you couldn't do either of those. there is no money in it like the Stephenson Antunez days, hell, even until 2007 when I raced the AMA series, or BooKoo Series through 2007, the purse was unreal... Did it last? No, But, things can be modified for sure.

JustMX wrote:

ok, Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to...

ok,

Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to correct me.

Mike Kidd ran ax events starting out in texas and then expanded, eventually getting AMA to let him run a "national AX series".

It kicked ass. The racing was great. It had a lot of personalities with guys like Mad Mike Jones and Denny Stephenson. Kidd did a lot of unique stuff. He gave championship rings, and I seem to remember they had an awards banquet and the top finishers were treated to ski trip and other cool stuff that helped build it as a big entertainment team. He paid good purses, had a points fund, built good tracks, had tough fair officials, and had events in diverse areas that pulled in people that were starved for good entertainment.

Kidd ran the series up until about 2000. Clear Channel, The company that proceeded Feld as the supercross promoter decided they wanted to go into the arenacross business.

Clear Channel was a huge entertainment company with a lot of leverage through the concert business and other facets of their business. They also owned about a thousand radio stations, so they had the ability to do a lot of promotions through them, or possibly price out people that they thought of us competitors. They put pressure on several different ax promoters, including Kidd, and they all sold out. Included in the deals were jobs with Clear Channel, and no compete agreements.

Kidd worked for them for a few years and then quit. When his non-compete clause expired he went back to running races.

Things had changed. 4 strokes had taken over, and the sport was coming out of the 2008-2010 recession. Other options for what little disposable income people had was also becoming a bigger factor. Expenses had also skyrocketed. It didn't take long for Kidd to throw in the towel.

He wasn't the only one. Drew Wolfe, who had also sold the awesome AX races he ran in Huntington, WV and Columbus, Oh to Clear Channel. Like Kidd he worked for them for a bit, and then when his non compete expired he went back into some of the arenas he had held races in before that clear Chanel had since abandoned and they were a hollow shell of what they once were. If I remember right one season was enough for Wolfe.

It is not an easy business. Rents have gone up and expenses like dirt move in have gone way up. It seems like a lot of gen x and millennials just don't have that much interest in motorsports anymore.

I also think that the racing is just not as good since the change to 4 strokes. I am not just being an old grouch. The 125s especially always put on an awesome show on the tight little tracks. If a rider made a mistake or got bumped, you could bet they were losing at least on position.

As good as Kidd did on the series after starting it, I just really don't think he can wave a wand and bring it back like it was when he had it before. personally, I am not sure anybody could.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

thanks for clearing that up, I never knew what the whole Mike Kidd story is. All I know is as a racer, you felt as if...

thanks for clearing that up, I never knew what the whole Mike Kidd story is. All I know is as a racer, you felt as if he cared for you, while you were at his events. Did he? Who knows... but it sure does feel nice being appreciated to be there.

rawjahdesigns wrote:

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think...

The thing is though, The Kicker AX, or Amsoil AX, is on a whole different level track-wise when it comes to skill level. And I think that's what some people are talking about here, and some are just talking about having ANY type of series available.

Mike Kidd is the guy to bring back arenacross, I dont know the whole story about him, but I think he might be "outlawed" in the MX community for some reason. IMO, he's the only promoter I have dealt with that respects a rider's worth and that a rider cares about what they make..he listens and doesn't ostracize them if they voice things and changes that need to be made, and as a racer, or any of us that love the industry should respect that.

We have people trying to make rides for arenacross when we just need to focus on having successful series' again.
There is no easier way than using your eyes to see that the sport has gone downhill in the aspect of grassroots and becoming a professional racer, when, let's be honest, whenever someone starts 2 wheels, gets the bug, and starts racing, their initial goal until reality sets in, is to become a professional racer..now whether it's shot down immediately or not, that's another subject...


At the end of the day though, Right now we just don't have an Arenacross series that can be called number 1.. It seems like 1a and 1b right now until someone bigger steps up.


SOMETIMES, it was the guys not finding a supercross ride and coming down to arenacross, SOMETIMES, its older guys trying to stay in for a little money...
right now though, you couldn't do either of those. there is no money in it like the Stephenson Antunez days, hell, even until 2007 when I raced the AMA series, or BooKoo Series through 2007, the purse was unreal... Did it last? No, But, things can be modified for sure.

JustMX wrote:

ok, Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to...

ok,

Here is the ax history as i remember. Kidd used to read this forum so hopefully if I am wrong he will not hesitate to correct me.

Mike Kidd ran ax events starting out in texas and then expanded, eventually getting AMA to let him run a "national AX series".

It kicked ass. The racing was great. It had a lot of personalities with guys like Mad Mike Jones and Denny Stephenson. Kidd did a lot of unique stuff. He gave championship rings, and I seem to remember they had an awards banquet and the top finishers were treated to ski trip and other cool stuff that helped build it as a big entertainment team. He paid good purses, had a points fund, built good tracks, had tough fair officials, and had events in diverse areas that pulled in people that were starved for good entertainment.

Kidd ran the series up until about 2000. Clear Channel, The company that proceeded Feld as the supercross promoter decided they wanted to go into the arenacross business.

Clear Channel was a huge entertainment company with a lot of leverage through the concert business and other facets of their business. They also owned about a thousand radio stations, so they had the ability to do a lot of promotions through them, or possibly price out people that they thought of us competitors. They put pressure on several different ax promoters, including Kidd, and they all sold out. Included in the deals were jobs with Clear Channel, and no compete agreements.

Kidd worked for them for a few years and then quit. When his non-compete clause expired he went back to running races.

Things had changed. 4 strokes had taken over, and the sport was coming out of the 2008-2010 recession. Other options for what little disposable income people had was also becoming a bigger factor. Expenses had also skyrocketed. It didn't take long for Kidd to throw in the towel.

He wasn't the only one. Drew Wolfe, who had also sold the awesome AX races he ran in Huntington, WV and Columbus, Oh to Clear Channel. Like Kidd he worked for them for a bit, and then when his non compete expired he went back into some of the arenas he had held races in before that clear Chanel had since abandoned and they were a hollow shell of what they once were. If I remember right one season was enough for Wolfe.

It is not an easy business. Rents have gone up and expenses like dirt move in have gone way up. It seems like a lot of gen x and millennials just don't have that much interest in motorsports anymore.

I also think that the racing is just not as good since the change to 4 strokes. I am not just being an old grouch. The 125s especially always put on an awesome show on the tight little tracks. If a rider made a mistake or got bumped, you could bet they were losing at least on position.

As good as Kidd did on the series after starting it, I just really don't think he can wave a wand and bring it back like it was when he had it before. personally, I am not sure anybody could.

lumpy790 wrote:

Mike Kidd paying the AX riders really really well forced AMA Pro racing to up their $$ game a lot like WSX is doing to Feld...

Mike Kidd paying the AX riders really really well forced AMA Pro racing to up their $$ game a lot like WSX is doing to Feld & MXSports.